(North Bergen, NJ–February 4, 2016) The Robotics Club received a $1,000 BOTBALL Scholarship from the BOTBALL Association, sponsored by NASA, to participate in the New York/New Jersey Regional BOTBALL Program, announced Dr. Joseph Giammarella, Principal of High Tech High School.
BOTBALL, an educational robotics program, concentrates on engaging middle and high school-aged students in team-oriented robotics competitions. The Robotics Club and its two USFIRST teams recently competed at the Liberty Science Center Qualifier. High Tech Team 7994 finished third, reaching the semifinals of the tournament. High Tech Team 9554 earned the Motivate Award for their outreach work in North Bergen.
Due to their recent success, Team 9554 ranks in 34th place and team 7994 ranks in 29th place in New Jersey, earning both teams an invitation to participate in the NJ Meet Championship, where a win moves them into the State Championships. The USFIRST FTC Robotics Competition promotes hands-on STEM research and activity through technology courses such as CAD, Engineering, and Computer Programming. Through the Robotics program, High Tech students demonstrate their engineering skills by creating amateur robots and competing against comparable local schools.
Since its inception in 2014, the Robotics Club has grown exponentially. Most recently, in 2015, it founded a new USFIRST team, Team 10633. Team 10633, a new freshmen team, hopes to build upon the successes of the two older teams.
“We’re excited that the robotics program is growing and gaining experience,” says Harry Peles and Alba Simon, co-facilitators of the High Tech Robotics Club, in a joint statement.
